Sorcery of Thorns

Oberon Ashcroft, Chancellor of Magic, invites Elisabeth and the press to his palatial manor, declaring that she is no longer considered a suspect. Instead, he promises to write a personal letter of recommendation to the Collegium on her behalf. Elisabeth is stunned by his sudden change of heart. Ashcroft thanks Nathaniel for “what [he] did for Miss Scrivener” (119), but Elisabeth doesn’t understand what he means. Nathaniel says his goodbyes to Elisabeth soon afterward, and the realization that she may never see him again fills her with a sense of “loss she [cannot] explain” (120).

The Chancellor welcomes Elisabeth into the golden interior of Ashcroft Manor and assures her that she’ll be safe there. She mentions the conversation that she overheard between Ashcroft and Nathaniel, and he explains that Nathaniel insisted on escorting her from Summershall: “[H]e was utterly convinced of your innocence. Nathaniel so rarely believes the best of people, I didn’t have the heart to deny his request” (123). Elisabeth is shocked that Nathaniel had been concerned about her. She almost tells Ashcroft that she knows a sorcerer attacked Summershall, but she hesitates because a number of his servants are present. Instead, she inquires about his demonic servant. The Chancellor explains that he keeps Lorelei out of sight and says that sorcerers who grow overly familiar with their demons leave themselves vulnerable. Elisabeth speculates that that’s what happened to Nathaniel’s father, but Ashcroft suggests that there may be more to the story.

A kindly servant named Hannah bathes Elisabeth, tames her wild hair, and dresses her in a gown of sapphire silk so that she can join the Chancellor; his wife, Victoria Ashcroft; and their guests from Parliament. Oberon gives a speech in which he praises recent technological advancements made possible by coal, steam, and natural gas. He proclaims, “I consider it my goal as Chancellor to bring sorcery out of darkness, and into the light” (129). The lords of Parliament and their wives are all anxious for Nathaniel to wed because House Thorn’s grimoire only opens for members of their bloodline, and their necromancy is considered vital to safeguarding the nation of Austermeer if war breaks out. Elisabeth is offended by the way they speak of the young sorcerer as if he’s livestock to be bred. After the party, Elisabeth hears an achingly beautiful song and follows it to a music room, where she sees a demon in the form of a woman with long, black hair and red eyes.

Lorelei glamours Elisabeth so that her body is limp, but Elisabeth’s mind remains alert thanks to her resistance to demons. Lorelei carries the girl to Ashcroft’s study and criticizes his decision to involve Nathaniel. She fears Silas, who is infamous even in the Otherworld. Ashcroft reveals that he orchestrated the attacks on the Great Libraries and sent fiends after Elisabeth so that he would have an excuse to bring her to his manor, saying, “Whatever mistake occurred in Summershall, I can’t afford to make it again. There must be no more surviving witnesses” (138). Luckily, he isn’t certain that Elisabeth saw anything incriminating. Lorelei makes it look like Elisabeth fell, and Ashcroft has Hannah help her to her room.

The next day, a physician diagnoses Elisabeth with “hysteria” and suggests that the Chancellor send her to Leadgate Hospital if bedrest at Ashcroft Manor proves unsuccessful. Elisabeth tries to convince him that the Chancellor is responsible for the attacks on the libraries, to no avail. She sees a butler, Mr. Hob, standing outside her room, and his reflection reveals that he is a demon. However, the doctor cannot see Mr. Hob’s true form, and Elisabeth’s outburst only cements his opinion of her mental state. Elisabeth feels as though she is a prisoner “at the mercy of her greatest enemy” (145).

During her confinement at Ashcroft Manor, Elisabeth realizes that many of the Chancellor’s servants are demons, and she anxiously wonders what he offered them to secure their obedience. Each day, Lorelei glamours her, and Ashcroft interrogates her about the night of the Director’s death. She is careful never to provide new information or reveal that the spell doesn’t work on her mind. She learns that Ashcroft has an illegal grimoire and that he plans to attack the Great Library of Harrows.

One day, a member of Parliament pays Ashcroft an unexpected visit during the interrogation, and Elisabeth gets Lorelei to leave the room by pretending to faint. Once she’s alone, she hurries to the grimoire, Prendergast’s Codex Daemonicus, which unleashes overwhelming waves of rage and betrayal until Elisabeth says, “I’m not your enemy […] I’m here as a prisoner of Chancellor Ashcroft. I intend to stop him, if I can” (154). Hearing footsteps, Elisabeth returns to her position on the floor. Lorelei revives her with smelling salts, and Ashcroft invades her mind so that he can search her memories. She prevents him from discovering that she knows a sorcerer killed the Director by combining her memory of finding the Director’s body with her memory of the Director’s words to her in the vault: “Do you know why I chose to keep you, Elisabeth?” (156). Tricked into thinking that Elisabeth isn’t concealing any sensitive information, Ashcroft attacks her memories with a spell and tells Lorelei that he’ll send the young woman to Leadgate that night.

Ashcroft’s spell fails to destroy Elisabeth’s memories. A carriage takes her to Leadgate, a “place where unwanted people, like her, [a]re made to disappear” (160). She escapes from the orderlies who try to restrain her and hides on the hospital grounds. A kindly nurse named Mercy sneaks out to offer Elisabeth some food. Elisabeth comes out of hiding to protect Mercy from Mr. Hob, who has reverted to his demonic form and is on the prowl. The young women escape behind an iron gate. Mercy thanks Elisabeth for saving her life and gives her a coin. Elisabeth tells Mercy to say that Elisabeth is “insane” and forced the nurse to assist her escape. She surmises that Ashcroft won’t care “whether she [is] rotting in Leadgate Hospital or starving on the streets” as long as he believes her mind is gone (166). As Elisabeth wanders through the city, she feels sickened by men’s cruelty toward girls.

Elisabeth learns that Ashcroft unleashed a Malefict on the Great Library of Fettering while she was trapped inside his manor. She falls ill after spending a few nights on the streets. Director Finch strikes her from Summershall’s records, and her letter requesting help is answered with a terse rejection. Elisabeth catches a glimpse of Silas running errands and hurries after him. A group of men chase her and corner her in an alley. She defends herself with a board studded with nails, and Silas kills the men. As the demon carries her to safety, she murmurs, “You’re a proper monster, Silas […] I’m glad of it” (176).

Silas takes Elisabeth to Thorn Manor. Nathaniel expresses surprise that his demon acted to protect her, but Silas replies, “You care about her, master, more than I have seen you care about anything in years […] There is no other reason why you should wish so fervently for her to leave” (179). Nathaniel considers sending Elisabeth away, but Silas insists that she is at the center of the strange events unfolding in the kingdom. Nathaniel orders Silas to look after Elisabeth and stalks back to his study.

Elisabeth awakens after a long rest. Nathaniel intends to send her back to the library, but she shows him the letter that disavows any record of her. After all the betrayals she’s suffered, she hesitates to tell him what she knows about Ashcroft, but his empathy inspires her to trust him. She relates everything that happened since the night of the Director’s death. Nathaniel believes her, but he warns her that the kingdom will never accept “a disgraced apprentice librarian’s [word] against the opinions of the most respected people in Austermeer” (188). Elisabeth declares that she can never stop fighting for what is right. She asks, “What did Silas mean, when he said you cared about me?” (188). Nathaniel tells her not to listen to demons and leaves. Elisabeth resolves to find a copy of the Codex so that she can discover whatever Ashcroft is after.

With Nathaniel’s reluctant permission, Elisabeth borrows some grimoires from his study and searches for any mention of Aldous Prendergast and his writings. She learns that Ashcroft’s ancestor, Cornelius the Wise, had Prendergast declared “insane” and imprisoned in a tower, where he fell into a coma and died. Silas brings her some dinner, and his composed features reveal “a hint of satisfaction” when she compliments his cooking (197). As the days pass, Elisabeth continues her research, and Nathaniel busies himself with crafting a beautiful illusion of a forest for the Royal Ball.

Elisabeth discovers a magical hand mirror. At her request, the mirror shows her Katrien, and she has just enough time to ask her friend to help her find a copy of the Codex before the mirror’s magic fades. She considers showing the mirror to Nathaniel, but she thinks he might confiscate the object. Elisabeth wonders if he senses the romantic tension between them.

The next morning, the mirror’s magic is back, and Elisabeth speaks with Katrien again. Katrien says that Finch is running the library like a prison but assures her friend that she has a plan to stop him. According to her research, there are only two copies of the Codex. She encourages Elisabeth to find a way into the Royal Library and steal the grimoire.

Elisabeth takes a job as a maid at the Royal Library. The Deputy Director, Mistress Petronella Wick, interviews her and is pleased with the young woman’s love of knowledge and truth. In the Hall of Forbidden Arts, Elisabeth sees a scrying mirror like the one she found at Thorn Manor. Mistress Wick says that all other scrying mirrors were destroyed after the Reforms 150 years ago. Wishing to understand “the change taking place within her heart” (208), Elisabeth asks if magic is automatically evil, and the woman tells her that there’s more than one valid way to see the world. Wick leads Elisabeth to an armory, where Junior Librarian Parsifal equips her with a leather belt and a white cloak lined with chain mail. Nathaniel sends Silas to keep an eye on Elisabeth, and he comes to the library in the form of a fluffy white cat with yellow eyes. Parsifal gives her a tour of the library, including the restricted archives in the Northwest Wing.

Being back in a Great Library feels like coming home, but Elisabeth’s dream of becoming a warden seems impossible now. She concocts a plan to access the library’s catalog without raising suspicion. She has Silas knock over a display and free a singing grimoire. When the other librarians flee the noise, Elisabeth looks up the Codex and discovers that it is in the restricted archives.